Grindhouse
April 18th, 2007I’m so sick of the whole gun debate that I don’t even want to get into it. It’s like abortion in the 90s or the Vietnam War in the 70s. Everyone just gets hysterical and nothing good comes from it.
That said, Mrs. Z and I went on a date last night and saw Grindhouse, an exploitation double feature from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. We both loved it.
Before I begin, let me just say that the movie (movies, actually) should have been rated X. The level of violence was on par to the exploitation films of the 70s. However, as someone who gets to see movies for free, and as someone who’s currently doing exploitation films, this one was a treat.
Planet Terror
The first movie was Planet Terror, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. I was hoping Rodriguez hasn’t lost it, because Once Upon a Time in Mexico was horrible, and he really hasn’t done anything outstanding since From Dusk ‘Til Dawn. Yes, Sin City was good, but vastly overrated.
Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) is a go-go dancer who loses a leg when a gas used as a military weapon is released in a rural Texas town. The gas turns people into zombies and her ex-boyfriend El Wray (Freddie Rodriguez) saves her life. Dr. William Block is the evil doctor who treats these people being turned into zombies, and Dr. Dakota Block is his wife that he treats like crap.
There are half a dozen other characters, and I’m not going to list them off, but I will tell you that Rodriguez does an excellent job developing them. After seeing the movie, Mrs. Z and I discussed which characters we liked best. I liked the cook, and of course Cherry Darling.
The action was over the top and unbelievable, but it’s all good. The zombies didn’t really follow zombie guidelines. Sometimes they attacked, sometimes they retreated, sometimes they just stood around and got shot. I don’t think Rodriguez cared about zombie rules; he was more concerned with keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats.
Rodriguez also did a large chunk of the soundtrack. Usually, Jack of All Trades are Masters of none, but Rodriguez is the exception. His directing, writing, musicianship, and even editing are top notch. The dialog is good, not as good as Tarantino’s, but still good. Rodriguez works more with darkness than Tarantino, but his lighting is spectacular. As Tarantino’s stunts are simplistic, Rodriguez goes overboard and full-on cheese.
This movie relied more on action and gore, and did a fine job at it. Rodriguez still has it, and he has redeemed himself for his last sleepers. Not as good as From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, but still a solid movie, and for an exploitation film, it’s top notch. 8 dead zombies 
Death Proof
You get two movies for the price of one ticket. It doesn’t get better than that. One warning, go to the bathroom first and don’t drink anything, or else you’ll have to go pee during Death Proof.
This baby is Tarantino’s turn to entertain you. It has a much smaller death count, and a completely different plot. Here, you have Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), a scarred misogynist, who, kills women with his death proof stunt car.
Tarantino does what he does best in this one. Although the dialog is not as good as Pulp Fiction, this is definitely his best work since then.
After killing off his first female victims, you get to a slow middle part that a lot of viewers criticize. I actually loved it. He developed four women, two actresses, and their stunt doubles.
Of the actresses, you had the dumb one and the hopeless idealist/romantic. I personally liked the stunt doubles better, because I’ve always had a preference for sporty gals. That’s just me though.
Of the stunt doubles, one was a tough gun-totin’ Kim (Tracie Thoms), and the other was the quirky New Zealander Zoe Bell who played herself. I swear Kim is the female version of yours truly, a hardened realist with a sense of humor, plus good-looking too.
This time around, Stuntman Mike stalks these four women. I won’t give much away, but one scene has you on the edge of your seat.
9 dead zombies for this one. Tarantino hasn’t been this good since Pulp Fiction. 
Bonus - Included with the double features are some uncensored trailers for exploitation films that don’t exist. Several of them, I’d love to see made into real movies.
The casting in both movies is perfect. The casting in the trailers is excellent as well, and seeing Nicholas Cage as Fu Manchu in Werewolf Women of the SS got both me and Mrs. Z to bust up laughing. Danny Trejo looked so cool in Machete too. Both Don’t and Thanksgiving were hilarious.
Warning - these movies are exploitation films. The violence alone should get these movies an X Rating, but you know how American censors are - violence good, nudity bad. Not everyone will enjoy them, especially if you’re not a fan of these types of movies.
I had a hard time with Dawn till Dusk. That particular one just didnt sit with my fancy. But your second choice here didnt sound so bad. I like movies. We just rented on Sunday The march of the Penquins, Stargate,The Sum of All Fears. And two kids movies of course for the girls.
I’m happy to hear that you didn’t like Once Upon a Time in Mexico either! Even the eye candy of Antonio Banderas couldn’t redeem this film! Being a huge fan of B-movies, L loved the trilogy. I’m certain that he’ll rent Grindhouse when it comes out.
I’ve always avoided this issue in the past, as I didn’t want to attract the loonies. Since I already have a resident loony I might as well address the current posturing on the subject.
I am working on my first ever gun post. All the recent tragedy in my life, added to the idiotic needling of the asshat troll have forced my hand on this issue.
Man, sign me up. I can’t wait to go see this double feature. Tarantino rocks, and Rodriguez aint so bad either.
sorry, i don;’t watch these sorts of movies so i can’t really comment. just wanted to let you know i reposted the pic via flickr…
BTW: I hear they’re releasing Machete direct to DVD when the Grindhouse goes to DVD. I hope that’s true b/c that looked hysterical.
It’s not that I disliked the dialogue scenes in Death Proof, I just thought they brought the whole movie to a standstill. I think I’d be less critical of it if Death Proof were first on the bill… You get supercharged by Planet Terror and the begining of Death Proof only to have to wait, and wait… That would have been more bearable for me in the first hour than in the last hour…
Thanks for the review. H and I have been thinking of seeing it. It’s not like there’s anything else out there that’s decent, which is a bit disappointing. I’m worried about the violence though - too much really turns me off.
Tweety - You probably wouldn’t like this one then. Makes From Dusk ‘Til Dawn look tame.
Tshsmom - You too, huh? My landlord’s mother is in love with Antonio Banderas. He’s on her desktop wallpaper.
Looking forward to your post.
Scott - Both of them stepped up to the plate and made good movies. I wasn’t too fond of Rodriguez’s last works, and Tarantino’s have only been okay since Pulp Fiction. They’ve both redeemed themselves big time with this one.
Lime - Sweet. I’ll check it out.
Laura - If so, I’ll rent it. That one looked cool. I’d like to see Danny Trejo finally star in a movie instead of being a bad guy who gets killed off.
Notta - Well, you might not want to see it. As I said, this should have gotten an X rating for the violence. It was an exploitation film, not at all a “regular” violent piece.
Are you going to post the review on the site too? I haven’t seen it there yet.
I bet Richard would’ve liked to read this before we saw it - he had to pee twice during Death Proof. ;D
I gotta agree with Laura that the first part of Death Proof was too talky, a little too slow after the crash-and-burn craziness of Planet Terror. But it’s still excellent.
I would looove to see “Don’t”! I’m still laughing at that one.
I have mixed feelings about Tarantino films, but I’ve heard good things about this. Think I’ll wait for the DVD tho….
JJ - Yes, I’ll get that review to you. Got at least two coming this weekend.
SME - Heh. Yes, we were laughing at “Don’t.” It’s funny, those same people kept getting killed different ways.
Diesel - Tarantino did one. Rodriguez did the other. Yeah, Tarantino is extreme and I could see how he doesn’t appeal to everyone. We’re film geeks though.